From April 2018, the limit for EIS investments made by an individual into knowledge-intensive companies will be doubled from the normal £1m to £2m. Alongside this, the limit of raising funds via EIS for these companies will also be doubled from £5m to £10, with similar changes to VCT limits.

The Chancellor referred to calls to reduce the threshold in line with other European countries, in a bid to ‘sell’ the announcement that the VAT registration will be frozen at the current level of £85,000 for the next two years, rather than increasing in line with inflation as it has done previously.

The Chancellor confirmed that future rates revaluations will be linked to the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) rather than the Retail Prices Index (RPI) from April 2018, which should reduce the impact of rates rises on businesses. Also, future revaluations will be made every 3 years rather than every 5 years from 2022 onwards, with relief also announced for those affected by the so called ‘staircase tax’.

The government have confirmed that they will extend the option to claim for business mileage at approved rates (i.e., 45p per mile) to individuals operating property businesses from April 2017, as an alternative to claiming for car costs.